Hundreds of razorbills have been turning up far from home in Italy

Marine seabirds known as razorbills are usually found in cold, northern waters, but hundreds of them have been turning up underfed in Italy, and no one knows why

By Lou Del Bello

Hundreds of razorbills, marine seabirds native to northern Atlantic coasts, have been arriving at coastlines in Italy – and many aren’t looking healthy.

Rosario Balestrieri at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, Italy, who spotted the first birds on 17 November, says that while the razorbill isn’t new to southern Europe, sightings would typically involve single birds getting lost once or twice a year. This time, 11 razorbills have been counted in the Gulf of Naples …